Monday, October 09, 2006

Tribute to Dr. Roy S. Simmonds

A Personal Tribute by Dr. Tetsumaro Hayashi

Despite his global recognition as a Steinbeck scholar and reputable critic of William March, Edward O’Brien, and other literary subjects, Dr. Roy S. Simmonds (September 10, 1925 – November 10, 2000) was indeed a man of grace, humility, and compassion. Great Britain’s and Europe’s leading Steinbeck scholar, he had been invited often as a keynote speaker or as one of the major speakers to international Steinbeck congresses and conferences, while remaining so incredibly loyal and caring to his friends in the U.S.A. and other countries.

Roy S. Simmonds, a leading Steinbeck scholar in Great Britain and Europe, lived an illustrious life as an independent scholar—an indefatigable and committed researcher, writer, and publishing scholar, a mighty intellectual dynamo who lived quietly with his elegant wife and his family in Billericay, Essex, England, while working for the Inland Revenue Service in London. His sparkling brilliance and his unmatched research instinct and exceptional tireless hard work helped him surpass many university-trained scholars. This resulted inevitably in his winning the highest critical esteem, first in Steinbeck studies and later in William March and Edward O’Brien studies, especially in the United States and Japan, not in his native country. Indeed, he was an exemplary creative scholar who mastered, on his own genius, the art and craft of critical, scholarly research and writing without a college education.

Dr. Tetsumaro Hayashi is Editor-in-Chief of the Steinbeck QuarterlyProfessor Emeritus of EnglishDirector Emeritus of the Steinbeck Research InstituteBall State University